Room & Board announces new Boston store

BOSTON — Minnesota-based Top 100 retailer Room & Board has announced plans to open its first New England store here in late 2013, the Boston Globe reported.

The 39,000-square-foot multilevel store will be at 407 Newbury St., at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, the paper reported. It will occupy the entire four-story building, which dates back to 1908 and is owned by Kensington Investment Co., the paper said.

Room & Board ranked at No. 27 on Furniture/Today's most recent listing of Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores. According to the May 21 report, it has 12 locations, including two in Minneapolis and three in the Chicago area.

The company also has plans to open a 27,500-square-foot store at University Village in Seattle this fall, according to the Top 100 report.

In a press release, the company said that a new, modern glass structure will be added to the rear of the Boston building. The building also will include a second-floor terrace and a sidewalk area that will display a selection of modern furniture and accessories from the company's outdoor line.

The paper reported that Boston Urban Partners and Tegra Group helped Room & Board in its search to identify the property and that the Minneapolis office of the global architecture firm Gensler will work with the retailer on the store's interior design.